Captain of Rising Pune Supergiant set to make return in IPL 2026

The upcoming auction of IPL 2026 can be more entertaining, as Steve Smith has revealed his desire to make a return in the elite franchise league. Smith confirms that he will be at the IPL 2026 mini auction. 

During a conversation with former England international Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith said that he will be at the IPL 2026 with a desire to again enter into the cash-rich league. The Aussie batter last participated in the franchise during the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League. 

During the conversation with Pietersen, Smith said that IPL is still the premier franchise tournament among all T20 leagues across the globe, as some of the best talents get the opportunity to face each other. Indian cricketers are not allowed to take part in overseas franchise leagues, so IPL is the only medium for the cricketers of other nations to face the best Indian cricketers of the game. That is one of the main reasons for Smith to reconsider participating in the tournament in the upcoming days. 

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Steve Smith can play in IPL 2026 

"All the players are enjoying playing it (IPL). I think you are coming up against the best players from all over the world. Obviously the Indian players don't play in any of the other leagues. So yeah, I'd love to be part of IPL again," Steve Smith said through the video. In the later part of the video, he confirms his inclusion in the upcoming auction as well. 

Smith has played 9 IPL seasons so far with multiple franchises. IPL 2017 was one of his most significant seasons, as he was assigned as the skipper of Rising Pune Supergiant. MS Dhoni was the captain for the Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016, but Steve Smith took over the captaincy for the 2017 season. The Australian batting maestro has played a total of 103 IPL games to score 2485 runs at a batting average of 34.51.